Architects of Alteration
by Mechanism Unknown
Summary: AU in which the contents of the safe wasn’t all the Hitachiin’s maid took. Twelve years later, Hikaru wonders why he feels incomplete whenever he looks in the mirror.
1. Chapter 1

**Title. **Architects of Alteration  
**Author. **Mech  
**Project Start. **circa March 2008  
**Applicable Genres. **Action/adventure, mystery/suspense, drama  
**Rating. **T  
**Warnings. **Manga spoilers; violence; questions that are not to be answered immediately, unspecified age modifications, unidentified flashbacks, and anything else that may come with an alternate universe situation  
**Parings. **Nothing concrete, and nothing to be afraid of  
**Summary.** AU in which the contents of the safe wasn't all the Hitachiin's maid took. Twelve years later, Hikaru wonders why he feels incomplete whenever he looks in the mirror.  
**Inspiration. **The desire to write something in which Kyouya is a criminal, and yet, still Kyouya. Watching _The Daughter of Twenty Faces _helps to get me in the mood, too.

Credit for the title goes to an anonymous friend of mine.

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_He says he looks in the mirror and he can't tell anymore  
__Who he really is and who they believe him to be  
__And he says he walks a thin line between what is and what could be  
__And he's getting closer to something he can't understand  
__- _Lifehouse, "Fairy Tales and Castles"

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_**Infiltration I.  
**__Chapter 1_

"There's a rumor," Hikaru began with an air of mystery, "that one student here became a criminal after he graduated because he didn't get picked as the heir to his family's company."

"A criminal?" repeated Kaoru, raising his eyebrows in mock surprise. "Like the Japanese mafia?"

"Something like that… Though I heard he's even _worse _than the mafia." The corners of his lips then twisted pensively. "Or better, since he's supposedly killed a bunch of them."

"Yeah; it depends on your point of view," Kaoru pointed out with a half-hearted shrug. "What else has he done?"

Crossing his arms, Hikaru gained a pensive yet genuinely interested pose. "You've heard of the 'Shadow,' haven't you?" Kaoru nodded slowly. "And how he kidnapped somebody several years ago? They're still looking for him. Isn't that right, Haruhi?" he prodded the girl at his side for agreement.

"I have better things to do than to listen to silly rumors like that," she complained, annoyed at being interrupted in her reading. "Besides, do you really believe a normal student like us is capable of becoming a criminal mastermind?" She raised a doubtful eyebrow.

Hikaru shrugged. "They have to come from _somewhere_," he and his twin replied simultaneously. She rolled her eyes, having momentarily forgotten that Ouran students were far from _normal_. Bored with the topic of conversation, Hikaru turned back to his lunch. Although his similar, nonchalant motions spoke otherwise, Kaoru could not distract his thoughts from how "They're still looking for him" here in his birth country. But a few days ago, oblivious to this reaffirmation of only a supposition, he had pleaded to hear the aforementioned tale himself:

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"Dad," Kaoru half-wined as he turned over on the bed, "tell me a story."

"No, you need your rest for tomorrow," the addressed one replied.

"I'll sleep on the plane."

"You're too old for bedtime stories."

"That's what you always say. _Please_, just this once?"

When the puppy-dog eyes emerged, the man was subtly forced to turn back on the light and sigh, "Very well." He stepped over to the bed and sat down beside the boy. "What story would you like to hear?"

"The one about how you found me," suggested Kaoru, pulling the edge of the blanket up to his nose to hide his triumphant grin. Meanwhile, the other rolled his eyes – they both knew that this particular story had been told far too many times by now for it not to have been memorized.

Regardless, after a gaining a more comfortable position against the headboard, he capitulated. "In German or Japanese this time?" he specified.

"Japanese," Kaoru instantly decided.

The other nodded as his mind switched languages. According to instruction, he began, "About 12 years ago, in Tokyo, Japan, there lived a set of identical twins..."

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The alarm blared, waking Hikaru from his sound sleep. His eyes shot open and immediately noticed the vacant spot on the bed next to him.

"Kaoru, where are you!?" he screamed, sitting up straight. The piggy bank lay smashed on the end table, coins spilling out over the surface. Amongst the broken shards lay a single piece of paper. Hikaru jumped out of bed, ran into the safe room, and rushed to the window. Unfortunately, by the time he reached the ledge, the maid had already disappeared into the night; all that was left was the empty rope ladder swinging in the wind. His young mind instantly conjured up the fear that his twin had gone with her. Soon after, Yuzuha came dashing into the room, pulling her son away from the window and into a tight embrace as soon as she could.

"Where's your brother?" she asked hysterically. When Hikaru could only turn his terrified, hazel eyes up at her in response, the tears began rolling down her cheeks.

"Hitachiin-sama," one of the servants spoke up, tapping the lady on the shoulder. She glanced up and was faced with a folded piece of paper. "This was on the nightstand." With shaking hands, she took the note and unfolded it. Inside lay a message in crisp, neat handwriting:

_I don't have any other choice, right? I just can't tell the two apart. If I left the situation as is, perhaps there would never be someone who can tell them apart. Now, everyone will be able to tell them apart. I have one twin, and you have the other. Don't you think this is for the better?_

_Yours truly, Shadow._

Immediately, Yuzuha and her husband sent all available men on a frantic search, but they would find no trace of the missing Hitachiin or his kidnapper. Remaining undetected due to expert organization, said pair of individuals entered into an apartment on the opposite side of the city.

"Shadow-sama, I brought you what you requested," the maid stated, politely at first, then: "Can I go now?"

"Excellent." After standing up from his seat on the couch, a slender young man stepped over and handed her an envelope. "Your payment and instructions are in there. Enjoy your time in Vegas." He smirked, and she mimicked the gesture.

"Believe me, I will." And with that, she took the envelope and what was once in the Hitachiin's safe along with her leave. Meanwhile, the man crouched down to get a better look at the shorter prize with which he had been presented.

"Which one are you?" he asked, taking the boy's chin in one hand and scrutinizing his features.

"K-K-Kaoru," the twin sobbed after a moment. Terrified tears welled in his hazel eyes.

"There's no need to be afraid, Hitachiin Kaoru. I'm going to take good care of you. My name is Kyouya, but most people just call me Shadow."

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A small smile drifted across Kyouya's face as he brushed back the strands of dyed auburn that had fallen over Kaoru's closed eyes. The sleeping figure gave a low moan in approval, bringing the other to chuckle just a little.

"Good night, Kaoru," he whispered, leaning down to plant a kiss on the other's forehead. On his way out, he shut off the light and closed the door behind him. Once outside the room, he made his way past a pile of suitcases to a computer console whose screen flashed with a completed virus scan. With a few, quick clicks and a handful of keystrokes, he extracted all the data from the desktop computer and transferred it to a laptop nearby, leaving the desktop void of a signature. After storing the laptop safely in his briefcase, he double-checked the multiple locks on the front door of the apartment before heading for the other bedroom. Once there, he removed the revolver attached to his hip before sliding into bed.

The next morning – though far too few hours later for Kyouya's liking – Kaoru was found frowning at his reflection in the mirror. "I don't look like _me _anymore," he complained, leaning in to examine his now-blue eyes more closely.

"That's kind of the point," came the voice of Kyouya from the doorway. Somehow, he managed to make the half-asleep mumbling sound sarcastic.

"I know." Sighing, he tossed the empty, plastic contact lens cases into the trash. "It's just that…" As he trailed off, he felt a hand being placed on his shoulder, telling him that he didn't have to finish the sentence.

"Come on; we should go if we want time to grab breakfast before the flight," Kyouya said above his mug of coffee. Nodding, Kaoru followed him out of the room. After zipping up his jacket, he picked up the wallet that lay on top of one of the suitcases in the living area. Between the folds of the leather he found a passport marked _Deutschland_, with a portrait of the brown-haired, blue-eyed version of himself inside. He exhaled in dry amusement at the picture and the text beside it.

"Something wrong?" prompted Kyouya at the sound.

"No, it's just ironic," the other replied, "that in Germany, I'm Japanese, but in Japan, I'm supposed to be German."

"Amazing how one can change nationalities so easily, isn't it?" Kaoru laughed wryly, placing the wallet and passport in his coat pocket. From behind him, he heard footsteps, followed by an arm around his shoulders. "Just remember, wherever you go, you'll always be my son." A glance over the shoulder revealed a warm smile.

"And you'll always be my dad. No matter what," he emphasized, returning the smile. An so, with forged documents proving this relationship, they boarded a plane for Tokyo, Japan.

True to word, Kaoru slept through most of the flight. Unfortunately for Kyouya, he had no such luck. His gaze was constantly sent warily back and forth across the plane. The counterfeit secret police badge in his breast pocket may have gotten them past an explanation for the handguns, but in his many years of experience he had learned that it was far better to be safe than sorry.

When at last the cityscape of Tokyo floated into vision within the small, Boeing windows, Kyouya allowed himself half a sigh in relief, and half in dread. He prodded the sleeping boy next to him in order to announce their arrival, but received only an annoyed groan in reply. However, by the time the plane landed, the noise was enough to wake him; quite fortunately, because Kyouya himself was on the verge of collapsing out of exhaustion. As soon as they reached the reserved hotel suite, he sank onto the plush couch.

"Here, take this," he said tiredly, outstretching a hand with the room keys, "and this"—he handed over one of the pistols—"and buy us some groceries." Accepting both gifts, Kaoru nodded in amused acknowledgment.

"Good night, _Vater_," he called on his way out the door.

"Hmm... Don't get shot."

Rolling his eyes, Kaoru locked the door behind him.


	2. Chapter 2

_Chapter 2_

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"You're _sure _this is okay?"

With an irritated yet understanding sigh, Kyouya turned around to face his concerned son, looking the Ouran high school uniform that covered him up and down. "There is always the potential for problems," he replied truthfully. "However, this is a unique opportunity of which one should take advantage. You don't remember, so it's just as likely that he doesn't either. And, as I told you before, Yuzuha-san would have kept him safe from this." Kaoru nodded, but was clearly not convinced. Upon noticing his plight, the other tried instead, "Besides, you know what they say – keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."

Kaoru wrinkled his brow. "He's not the enemy."

"Not he per say, but the principle still applies." He placed his hands on the boy's shoulders and stared him straight in the eye. "Now, have a good day at school, all right?" Kyouya did his best to smile; subsequently, Kaoru burst out laughing. "What?"

"Th-that must be the sappiest thing you've ever said," he managed between chortles. Rolling his eyes, Kyouya just left him to his own amusement, instead occupying himself with the pack of cigarettes on the kitchen counter. Once Kaoru had recovered, he followed after his father figure and grabbed onto his sleeve, bringing the other to look at him expectantly before lighting up.

"Thanks, dad," he spoke quietly with an equally soft expression. This time, Kyouya's smile – however small – was genuine as he ruffled the mess of auburn hair.

"Go on," he ordered, kindly yet firmly. "You shouldn't be late for your first day." This time, Kaoru nodded in genuine agreement. After grabbing his book bag, he was out the door in a flash. As it shut behind him, Kyouya shook his head in mock disapproval. "Teenagers..." Then, amusement turned to business as he took out a cell phone with his free hand and dialed one of his many contacts. "I'm ready when you are. Two weeks, you say? Plenty of time for preparation." A smirk was dancing across his face as he closed the phone.

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When Hikaru walked into school that morning, he tossed Haruhi a smile as usual before settling into his seat. As soon as he stepped within close proximity, the smell of smoke fresh on his breath found its way over to her nose, causing her to wrinkle it in distaste. Regardless of whether or not he noticed the action, he did not have time to comment as their first teacher walked into the room.

"Everyone, if I may have your attention for a brief moment," she began to announce, "I'd like you all to welcome your new classmate."

Effectively, if momentarily, distracted from his current woes, Hikaru's ears perked up at this unusual news. The last time such an event occurred at Ouran, the commoner sitting in the seat next to him emerged.

"Even though he's only here temporarily, I expect you all to make him feel welcome."

_Oh_, thought Hikaru, _so that's it_. His family must be doing business in Japan, and couldn't bear to spare their child the best education even for the short time of their stay. Hazel eyes lazily drifted over to the newcomer, who was smiling politely by the teacher's desk.

"It's a pleasure," he greeted with the hint of an accent, "I'm Karl Reich – or Reich Karl as they say here – and I'm from Munich, Germany."

"It's a pleasure to have you in our class, Reich-san"—though she pronounced it more like _Raiku_—"Why don't you write your name on the board so everyone can get it right?" the teacher suggested. Nodding, Kaoru turned to do as he was told. As soon as the letters left the chalk, he had to repress a laugh; the katakana for _Karl _practically spelled _Kaoru_. When he turned back around, his gaze instantly fell upon the same character they had when he first entered the room.

Regardless of how he never remembered seeing his brother before, Kaoru instantly recognized him. Even with all the training he had, he couldn't stop all that elation from bubbling up inside of him and erupting into a smile. Luckily, the class saw it simply in polite greeting. He followed the teacher's directions to a seat surprisingly close to his twin's, with only a brunette in between them, as if it had been waiting for him.

Hikaru's bored, irritated gaze turned to the notebook on the desk in front of him as the teacher began the lesson. Meanwhile, Kaoru spent the morning forcing himself not to cast so many glances at his other half. The few that he couldn't resist showed the older twin passing notes to the brown-haired girl, much to her poorly-masked annoyance. By lunchtime, Kaoru had come to terms with the reasonable – yet irrationally disheartening – lack of equally curious glances from his twin and resigned himself to following the other students through the process of purchasing the midday meal. As a result, he was all the more surprised when Hikaru himself came up to his table.

"Hey, Reich-kun? You're welcome to sit with me and Haruhi if you want," he offered, holding his lunch tray with a tensely nervous grip. His hazel eyes wandered, indicating that he didn't really want to be there at the moment. With a brief glance down the cafeteria, Kaoru saw that the brunette was watching the interaction with an interest indicative of having prompted it.

"Sure," he answered brightly with a matching smile. At first, Hikaru appeared taken aback by the affirmative response, but soon recovered with his own upturn of the lips.

"Great!" Thus, he led the way to the appropriate lunch table. As soon as they sat down, the girl confirmed herself to be the assumed Haruhi (Fujioka Haruhi, to be precise) and scolded Hikaru for not properly introducing himself as well. "Right, right…" he began sheepishly, "Hitachiin Hikaru. Nice to meet you." The boys exchanged a brief bow of the head.

"So what brings you to Japan, Reich-kun?" inquired Haruhi once the pleasantries had been completed.

"My dad's here on business," Kaoru answered vaguely. His trained eyes noticed how she was eating from a _bento_ box in contrast to the myriad of porcelain plates.

"I see. How long are you staying?"

"Hmm… We're not sure yet. Probably a few months."

"Really? It seems silly to go through all the trouble of learning Japanese just for that short amount of time."

"No, no, I've always known the language," he replied, laughing nervously at her bluntness. "My dad's Japanese, so he taught me."

"That makes sense," Hikaru put in. "I thought you looked half-Japanese or something like that." Luckily, he continued before Kaoru needed to give more than a noncommittal nod in reply. "But your name's not Japanese at all."

"Dad changed it when we moved to Germany."

"Why, was he on the run from the cops?" A grin indicated that the question was meant to be rhetorical, and thus Kaoru allowed himself a laugh beside the irony. When Haruhi scolded Hikaru for the rude – if jocular – supposition, he returned with a shrug and, "It could happen. In fact"—He turned to the new student with an excited glint in his eyes—"there's a rumor that one student here became a criminal after he graduated because he didn't get picked as the heir to his family's company." Haruhi rolled her eyes.

"A criminal?" repeated Kaoru, raising his eyebrows in mock surprise. Already this was bound to be an interesting excursion to his mother country. He wondered if his father knew about his fame within the halls of his own _alma mater_.

"How was your first day at school?" Kyouya asked him that evening.

"'Hikaru'…light…" Kaoru murmured wistfully in response, dropping his book bag near the _kotatsu_. "Is it the same character?"

"Yes."

"What does 'Kaoru' mean?"

"Fragrance, aroma."

"Awe, that's lame. I wish I was 'light.'"

The sound of glass shattering against stainless steel caused Kaoru to wince.

"Don't say that," Kyouya spoke in a low voice.

"Th-that's not what I meant!" Kaoru quickly stumbled in apology. "I only meant that I wish my name meant something more interesting. I like who I am." When Kyouya didn't reply, the other gingerly stepped over to the kitchen to see his hands clamped down on the edge of the sink so hard they were starting to shake. Prying the fingers away from the metal, Kaoru brought one of these hands up to place in his own. "I like who I am, and I've give anything to stay that way." He smiled up at Kyouya. "Thank you, dad, for letting become that person."

But when those hazel eyes darkened, it was clear he had a debate going on in his mind. "Even though…?" Kyouya prompted, squeezing the hand in his. With a sigh, Kaoru let his insecure gaze fall to the floor.

"The other kids were making fun of him. I can't help but think that maybe if I had stayed around, he would have more friends." The other opened his mouth to interject a word, but Kaoru stopped him before he could, knowing full well the identity of it. "I know; one shouldn't live depending on a _maybe_."

Kyouya nodded. "I didn't have many friends either, and look what happened to me."

Unsure of the reassuring value of such a statement, Kaoru cocked his head to the side. "I thought _I _was supposed to inherit the legacy of Shadow."

"No, that's not what I meant," he corrected, yet gently. "I attained a rewarding career and a wonderful son." After removing his hand from the other's grasp, he ruffled said child's hair, thereby summoning a light fleck of modesty onto the other's cheeks. However, Kyouya's gaze then turned stern with, "but I'd rather not have this son of mine continue down this career path."

"I know, I know," Kaoru replied with the irritated tone of a teenager having been told something one too many times. He stuck out his tongue childishly. "I'm supposed to get married and 'live happily ever after.'"

"Right," the other affirmed, returning to the dishes.

"It's times like these I have to think that René had _too much _of an effect on you."

He chuckled. "Perhaps."

"What about you, dad?" Kaoru asked abruptly, turning back around from having walked away. When he was met with a inquisitive stare, he elaborated, "When will you have your 'happily ever after'?"

With a wry smile, Kyouya wrung the dishtowel around a dark green mug. "For one who lives the life of a criminal, there is no 'ever after.'"


	3. Chapter 3

_Chapter 3_

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"You never answered my question," Kyouya pointed out at dinner. At a loss as to the context, Kaoru could only blink blankly in return. "You told me all about Hikaru's day, but nothing about yours. Although I presume that I was right in asserting that he knew little, if not nothing?"

"Yeah, you were right about that," admitted Kaoru, stirring the noodles in his bowl aimlessly. "At the very least, he didn't recognize me, and he talked about the so-called 'rumor' as if it had nothing to do with him. Dad, he said they're still looking for me." Although his expression displayed displeasure, Kyouya nodded in understanding.

"I expected as much. Yuzuha-san's not one to give up so easily. You didn't think so?"

"I never really thought about it," reflected Kaoru. "It does only seem reasonable, now that I've heard it." He twisted his brow pensively. "It just felt so much more... real, hearing someone say it out-right."

Kyouya stared at him, long and thoughtful, before reiterating what he had to: "You're free to see them if you want."

"No!" Kaoru instantly shot back, dropping his chopsticks to slam his fists into the table top. Regardless of how the action had been repeated many times before, it still took Kyouya by surprise every time. "I don't want to – they'll try to take me away from you! Dad, please stop saying that..." As his watering eyes pleaded for justice, his knuckles began to turn white. "I don't ever want to leave you. I love you."

Sufficiently defeated, Kyouya put down his utensils as well, closing his eyes for a brief second. "Come here," he said, gesturing with an open arm. After coming from the other side of the _kotatsu_, Kaoru fell into the welcome embrace, letting his head rest on his father's shoulder. "I'm sorry. I love you, too, Kaoru."

"And?"

"And I don't ever want to leave you, either." Running a hand through the auburn hair, Kyouya gently laid a kiss on his son's forehead. "Now, tell me, how was your first day of school?"

From behind drying tears, Kaoru managed a laugh at the contrastingly innocent question. "It was fine. There's a math test on Friday."

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The second time Hikaru asked the transfer student to sit with him and Haruhi at lunch, it was out of his own volition. Kaoru smiled brightly once more, gratefully accepting the offer. And so it was every day that week, and the next. When Hikaru even invited the other to karaoke for a display of authentic Japanese activities, the excitement that lit up his eyes was genuine.

"Unless you need to get home to your dad," added Hikaru, having noticed that being Kaoru's saying whenever they said their good-byes at the end the school day.

"Actually, my father's working on a special project today; he's not going to get back until late at night, so I'm free for the afternoon," Kaoru assured him.

"Great!" A second later, he realized that the word choice could be easily construed as inappropriate. "I mean, that you're free – not that you're dad's working late," he corrected himself as they climbed into the car headed for downtown. Luckily for him, Kaoru's subsequent laugh showed he was not offended by the blunder. As he settled into the seat, Hikaru's thoughts drifted to a similar matter, bringing forth as sigh. "I know what you mean. My mom's always gallivanting around the world for her fashion shows." Kaoru's attention perked up at this insight, while his sympathy was called forth by his twin's despondent reaction to his own words. His heart told him to reach out with a caring arm, while his mind beckoned for the apathy of a mere classmate.

"Is she a designer?" he finally decided to ask, the curiosity in his tone genuine.

"Yeah, and dad mostly assists her wherever she goes." He shrugged, feigning indifference. "What do your parents do?"

"_Vater _works in money management," Kaoru answered easily with the description he always utilized. After all, it was mostly true. The fact that a majority of the time the "managing" wasn't entirely under legal jurisdiction was extraneous.

"Who...?" Hikaru blinked at the unfamiliar term before the reasonable definition thereof came to him. "Oh, you mean your dad." Stepping out of the car in front of their destination, Kaoru nodded affirmatively. Hikaru followed soon after, then taking the lead as he guided his companion into the correct building. As soon as they were settled into a room with snacks ordered, Hikaru dug deep in his book bag for a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. When he offered one to Kaoru, the younger twin politely declined, but his immediate reaction of disapproval must have showed. "Does it bother you?"

"No, not at all," Kaoru insisted. "I'm used to it, because of _Vater_." Among all possible responses, the upbeat one provided was not one he primarily expected.

"Ah, lucky. My mom's super against it. Fortunately, she's not home right now either, so she can't notice if I smell like smoke. So don't tell her, all right?" In proper treatment of the secret he was sharing, he grinned.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about that." Opening the song directory, he automatically flipped to see if any of the German songs he knew happened to be available. "Say, Hikaru-kun, are you going to be a fashion designer as well?" he asked then, the curiosity getting the better of him. Even though his father had included in his stories the well-known process of occupation destiny weaved throughout the student body of Ouran, Kaoru was nevertheless taken aback – though he did not show it – by Hikaru's own expression of this ingrained understanding.

"Of course. I have to, since I'm the only heir," he stated matter-of-factly, placed in contrast to a nonchalant shrug. Overcome by the blatant lie in his unknowing twin's explanation, Kaoru had to swallow down the lump that had grown in his throat as he forced his mind away from contemplation and into focusing on Hikaru's next words. "Not that I would mind being a designer. I guess it's in my genes." On the pensive note, he shrugged once more, foreshadowing his reaction to Kaoru's question that followed.

"But it's not so much the genetics that are important," said Kaoru, "it's how you were raised, right?" With this remark, he gave his twin brother a steady yet playful gaze, serious yet void of pressure.

"I guess so..." he replied, unsure yet interested. As Hikaru looked towards the ceiling in search of answers, Kaoru had to wonder if his analysis, like most of the things he had told Hikaru, was also only half true. As he took the microphone from the redhead's grasp, he gave Hikaru's hand a squeeze.

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"Hikaru, I'm home!" Yuzuha called as she opened the door to her son's room without waiting for permission. From his languid perch on the bed, the redheaded boy merely gave her a cursory glance before turning back to his portable game player.

"Welcome back, mom," he greeted, though with only a half-hearted effort.

"Is that the only thing you say to your own mother whom you haven't seen in over a month?" she exclaimed, posing akimbo in disapproval.

"I missed you," he corrected himself, not currently in the mood for unleashing witty repartee. He had long since learned the one retort he should never give, regardless of a bad mood:

"_Maybe you're not really my mother. Maybe she got kidnapped by Shadow, and you're just pretending to be her."_

The image of unbridled terror on his mother's normally made-up face remained etched in his mind to this day.

"I missed you, too, Hikaru," Yuzuha returned kindly as she stepped over to the bed and took a seat upon it. When she began brushing away the stray strands of orange that had fallen over Hikaru's face, he raised an intrigued eyebrow at her. As foolish as it seemed, she still hoped that, somehow, by whatever miracle, when she came home from one of these trips to see two, identical faces staring at her in boredom – maybe even compassion.

"...mom?"

"How were things while your father and I were gone?" With a smile, she efficiently composed herself.

"The usual," Hikaru shrugged off, an unintentional cover-up for the in fact quite interesting occurrences in his school life.

"All right, then. It's good to see you're safe and sound," she added, standing. Wrinkling his nose in irritation, Hikaru turned back to his game and she turned towards the door.

"There's no way I _wouldn't _be 'safe and sound,'" he muttered to himself, "what, with all these bodyguards around."

"What was that, Hikaru?" she asked for clarification, stopping in her tracks to face her son once more.

"I mean... Hey, mom... can I ask you a strange question?"

Raising an eyebrow, she walked back to resume her place beside him on the bed. "Of course. You know you can ask me anything." He nodded, but at the same time pinched his lips in insecurity.

"What does it mean," he began slowly, "when you really like somebody? Like, you want to spend all your time with them, and hold onto them forever?" As the soft smile grew on Yuzuha's face, he stared up at her in questioning confusion.

"It means you should follow your heart," she answered simply, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. "Show them, whoever they are, that you care about them in that way." Gradually, Hikaru's expression relaxed to the point of visible satisfaction, indicating to her that she could now take her leave. "Don't stay up to late."

"I won't," he assured.


	4. Chapter 4

_Chapter 4_

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Given his years of experience dealing with sudden movements, Kaoru did not jump when he felt someone else's fingers brush lightly across his own. A glance to the side confirmed the action to have been instigated by Hikaru, though he remained staring off into the distance. To Kaoru's surprise, Hikaru's fingers continued to curve around his, claiming the other's hand in a hesitant yet affectionate hold. It wasn't for another, few, unresponsive minutes that Hikaru at last turned a smile on his brother.

"Karl-kun..." he whispered, leaning close enough to rest their foreheads together. Reading his nervousness, Kaoru struggled to swallow down his own. He gulped, their mouths but centimeters apart and only getting closer.

Slamming his eyes shut, Kaoru clapped his free hand on Hikaru's shoulder and pushed. When the former opened his eyes a moment later, the latter's expression was filled with scared shock. Tearing his other hand away, Kaoru jumped off the stone wall.

"I-I'm sorry, Hikaru-kun, I can't," he half-explained, tossing his unknowing twin the most pitiful, regretful glance he could muster. Without another word, he ran off towards the hotel with hazel eyes staring after his retreating figure.

When his father walked in the door that evening, he would see Kaoru staring up at him with a hurt gaze that clashed with his lazy posture on the couch.

"Can we go home soon?" pleaded the boy.

"Relatively, but why do you ask?" replied Kyouya in concern. "I thought you loved hanging out with your brother."

"I did... until he started hitting on me."

Kyouya started, quickly and effectively stifling the laugh as it built up in his throat. When Kaoru's sullen gaze dropped to the floor along with the video game controller in his hands, the other knew it was his turn to take control of the situation. Sitting down beside his son, he placed a comforting hand on the boy's shoulder. "How so?"

Kaoru breathed a deep, regretful sigh. "While we were sitting next to each other today, he... reached for my hand." He carefully left out the part of the almost-kiss, not quite comfortable with discussing the matter yet – if ever. "I wanted to hold his, too, but not for the same reasons he was thinking. I love him, but not like that."

"Did you tell him this?"

"No, not exactly..." he admitted, ashamed of his previous lack of explanation. "Since it's just going to be awkward from here on out, we might as well get the leaving part over with as soon as possible."

Kyouya's sigh that followed was on par with Kaoru's own. "I'll see what I can do. It'll probably be a couple weeks, so you'll have plenty of time to patch things up with him if you decide to do so."

"Thanks, dad, but I don't think I can," he replied honestly, if without hope, as he leaned over to rest his head on the other's shoulder. Picking up the controller, Kaoru restarted his game.

"Did you still want to go through with the test?" Kyouya asked for the sake of clarity, extending his arm around the back of the couch. At the end of a brief yet contemplative pause, Kaoru nodded his head with a sudden conviction.

"He deserves to know the truth."

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It was two days – full of awkward conversations and nervous glances – later, and thus far too soon for everything to be going as planned. When the door opened a full ten minutes after the teacher was supposed to have arrived, Kaoru's ears instinctively perked up as he sat up straight. Appropriately, too, for the three men who subsequently entered were not about to take attendance.

"Be nice little boys and girls, and nobody gets hurt," the clear leader announced as he took a stand at the front of the classroom. Opening their blazers ever so slightly to the side, the three revealed that each of them was packing heat. Besides Kaoru – whose frown showed more frustration than fear – everyone needed not try to stifle screams as they were shocked into silence.

"Everyone on the floor. Drop your stuff and push the desks to the side," instructed one of the henchmen. Immediately, the students did as they were told.

"Listen closely," continued the leader. "We are part of an organization that you scum call 'the Shadow.'"—Kaoru's frown deepened into an all-out scowl as the others raised eyebrows.—"We have placed our soldiers in each of the classrooms and offices on this campus. Nobody's leaving. Nobody's coming in to save you. I'm sure you're all wondering 'why,' but it should be of no surprise: the amount of wealth gathered in this building." His grin was nothing short of pure greed.

From his spot on the floor, Hikaru instinctively glanced over at the foreign student, and was taken aback at the sight of the other boy shaking, fists clenched and head bowed. "Karl-kun… are you okay?" Hikaru asked, though the response he received was not among the ones he might have expected. Kaoru shot up from his seat on the floor, threw a fierce glare at the criminals, and yelled,

"Liars! You're not Shadow. You're a disgrace to the name." Haruhi quickly tugged on his pant leg and quietly begged for him to rethink his brash actions, but Kaoru would not have it. He faced the situation with a confidence – some might say foolishness – the others had not seen in him before.

"And what makes you say that?" the tallest of the three returned calmly as his companions chuckled at the preposterous notion.

"Because I _know _Shadow. I have his phone number – you can call him to prove it, if you want." The students gasped. The adults contemplated the idea for a minute before deciding through a whispered discussion that it was better to do as the boy suggested, for if they refused it would only serve to make it appear as those they were trying to hide something (which they were, but that was besides the point).

"Very well. We'll test this number of yours." The man took out his cell phone and prepared to dial the number as the other two kept a watchful eye on the disobedient child. "Give it here." Hikaru watched in awe and anxiousness as Kaoru's body relaxed somewhat as he proceeded to rattle off a series of digits.

"Put it on speaker," he added. Seemingly in compliance, their kidnapper laid the phone on the desk in front of him. The dial tone echoed throughout the classroom in a sickening slow rhythm as if in intended torture. The entire room held their breaths in anticipation.

"_You've reached the Shadow. How may I be of service?_"

The voice was smooth, sly, and confident.

Kaoru shouted lightning-fast German. A _click_ sounded, and he was soon face-to-face with the opening to a revolver. Instantly, he shut his mouth and stiffened once more.

"If you don't want your brains decorating the nice walls of this establishment, I suggest you translate every bit of that," the gunman warned, glaring hard.

A second later, the assured voice was unobstructed by wireless transfer when it drawled, "Oh, shooting my associate would _not _be a good idea."

Heads turned to the open window in which a figure stood, outlined by the day's light bending around his dark attire. Black, square-rimmed glasses framed cold, hardened eyes. In one hand he held his own weapon pointed directly at the enemy's gunman. With the other hand he clicked a cell phone shut and slipped it inside his coat. In a flash, the other two men whipped out their pistols and directed their aim at the newcomer, but he remained unaffected.

"Catch," he spoke cryptically. In another flash, a pistol found its way into the hands of Kaoru as well – Shadow must have thrown it, they would later conclude as the logical explanation. The eyes of the students sitting around his feet widened at the sight of their fellow classmate carrying such a weapon with what appeared to be adequate aptitude. Paying no heed to the gazes, Kaoru cocked the gun and held it up to his enemies.

"And so? What do you expect to do? There are only two of you," one of them said.

"You forget," the figure in the window began. He and Kaoru shared smirks and the next statement: "the shadows are _everywhere_."

No one was quite sure what happened after that. Somehow, Shadow and his associate – who Hikaru had a hard time believing was the same _Karl_ as before – lured the attackers out of the room and into the hall. Plenty of running footsteps and gun shots followed, intermixed with curses and shouts in two different languages. Hikaru tried desperately to remain calm as he held his hands over Haruhi's ears because it sounded far too much like thunder to her. Some of the more fragile girls – along with a couple boys, much to their embarrassment – restarted their crying.

In short, there was chaos.


	5. Chapter 5

_Chapter 5_

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Silence filled the room. For a moment, everyone was still with anticipation. Then, Hikaru dared lift his hands from Haruhi's ears. They breathed—

The door slammed open against the wall. Somebody screamed. In stumbled Kaoru, bruised and breathing heavily. He collapsed onto the floor beside Hikaru and Haruhi, muttering what must've been swears as he gained his bearings.

"Are you… okay?" Hikaru tried after a moment of tense silence, peering down at the other in concern. Kaoru blinked a blue gaze back at him.

"Yeah, I think so," he replied, slowly regaining his smile as he sat up. "Thanks." He noticed, however, that the rest of the class gingerly slid farther away from him. He opened his mouth to say something else, but abruptly stopped before he did so and brought his aim up to the doorway. Upon following his gaze, the others gasped at the sight of Shadow himself having stepped through the doorway, looking just a tad less intimidating with the relaxed lighting. Kaoru, however, had the exact opposite reaction.

"Oh, it's just you," he said calmly, retracting the firearm and even appearing relieved. Giving a brief nod, Kyouya tucked his own weapon back underneath his coat. Then, his gaze caught on something that caused his expression to morph into a frown.

"Dammit, how do you always manage to get shot in the leg?" he demanded, rushing over to Kaoru's side. The boy grinned sheepishly. It was only then that Hikaru let his gaze drift over to the appendage in question. He instantly felt uneasy at the sight of blood soaking his friend's pant leg; the nauseousness only worsened when Kyouya rolled up the fabric to reveal the wound underneath.

"You know how I run funny." He shrugged nonchalantly, and Kyouya _tsked_ like a parent whose child had just broken the floor lamp playing soccer in the house. Then, he exhaled a sigh and turned his gaze on the older twin, who instantly froze.

"Hikaru, run to the nearest bathroom and get me some damp towels," Kyouya ordered.

"M-me? How d'you know my name?" the redhead stumbled, failing in an attempt to sound more authoritative than frightened.

"Yes, you, Hitachiin! Now move before I shoot you in the leg, too." With that, Hikaru scrambled to his feet and shot out the door regardless of the lack of an answer to his second question. When Kyouya turned back to Kaoru, there was an odd sort of amused yet irritated expression on the Shadow's face. "See, he's nothing like you," he told the boy in German. "You would have just gone and gotten it." Kaoru's lips twisted along with a shrug, but he didn't answer.

Silence followed until Hikaru returned with damp towels in tow. When he handed them over, he was surprised to find that they were not ripped from his grip but instead gratefully accepted with even a "thanks." As the man cleaned Kaoru's wounds, Hikaru sat back down beside him and put a comforting hand on the other boy's shoulder. A pang inexplicably struck his chest whenever Kaoru winced against the pain.

"All right, that should do it until we get you home," finished Kyouya, fastening the last, clean towel around the wound with Kaoru's tie. The other, stained ones he sealed in a zip-top bag stashed within his trench coat in order to dispose of possible DNA evidence. As he stood, he ruffled the boy's brown hair affectionately, earning an embarrassed wince from the owner and a curious stare from the onlookers at such a warm gesture coming from a felon. Paying the gazes no heed, Kyouya stepped over to the open window. The objective of his movement was revealed a moment later when he lit up a cigarette.

For several long minutes, the only sounds were that of the Shadow taking drags and blowing smoke. Then, Hikaru posed the curious question that had been weighing on his mind for a while now.

"Then… is it true? That you used to go to school here?" he asked, and all though the inquiry was directed at Shadow, Hikaru couldn't peel his concerned eyes off of his injured comrade. A pause followed, as if the answer was debating whether or not it should be given.

"Yes, that's true," Kyouya replied at last.

"But if people know that," Haruhi spoke up, creasing her brow in intrigue, "can't they figure out your identity by the process of elimination?"

An amused smirk tugged at his the corners of his lips at her deduction. "There are plenty of people who know very well who I am, or at least are fairly sure. The issue lies in the lack of people who can _find _me. Speaking of which"—his gaze wandered over to Kaoru, and their eyes met—"we need to go before the cops get here." With that, Kyouya defenestrated the remains of his cigarette with the flick of the wrist.

"You're leaving?" Hikaru exclaimed, eyes widening in surprise. His gaze traveled back and forth between the two offenders. "But—" He wanted to reach out and hold onto his friend, preventing Shadow from taking him away. But when his hand clasped onto Kaoru's arm, the other just gave him a regretful smile.

"I'm sorry, but I can't stay here," he spoke softly.

"We may have just saved your hides," Kyouya inserted bitterly, "but we're still wanted men."

"At least _I_'m wanted _alive_," commented Kaoru as he struggled to climb to his feet with Hikaru's helping hand.

"And I'm sure we'd all love to keep you that way. However, not all of the Force may be aware of this, and I'd rather not have to kill anybody else today." The way in which he said this with a completely straight face brought Kaoru to roll his eyes and Hikaru to raise an eyebrow in intrigue. Haruhi just wanted to go home, but found that she was no longer in the mood to cook dinner.

"Karl-kun," started Hikaru as he reluctantly handed his twin over, "before you go, I should apologize... for the other day. I misinterpreted some things, and—" With a finger on his lips and an assuaging smile on Kaoru's, his anxious words were halted.

"You're forgiven," Kaoru assured him. "You had no way of knowing."

"Knowing what?" But he did not receive an answer.

They parted in silence, because no one was quite sure what to say.

After that, it wasn't long before what appeared to be the entire Tokyo police force invaded the building, questioning students and gathering evidence from the fallen hostage-takers. Soon after that parents came rushing in to check on their children. Still in a daze from the events previous, Hikaru didn't even notice his mother approaching him until she tugged him into a tight embrace.

"Hikaru, I'm so glad you're okay! You're not hurt anywhere, are you!?" she exclaimed in a panicked voice. After loosening her grip, she looked her son up and down to check for damage.

"I'm fine, mom," Hikaru waved off the concern. Then, he twisted his brow at the irony of his next statement: "Shadow… saved us…" His mother's grip on his shoulders unexpectedly tightened, her eyes widening.

"Sh-Sh-_Shadow_?" she stumbled out, appearing downright terrified.

"Yeah. He took care of the bad guys. No one got hurt." _Well, except Karl-kun… _His gaze drifted towards the window as if he could catch one last glimpse of his classmate. Meanwhile, Yuzuha shifted her gaze to the floor; the boy had never seen his mother look so shaken in his life.

"We're going home, Hikaru." Without waiting for a response, she took her son by the arm and practically dragged him out of the classroom. He threw one last glance over his shoulder at Haruhi, relieved to see her being comforted in the arms of her father, his sweats out of place among all the business suits.

Although Yuzuha stayed attached to her son for the entirety of the ride home, she disappeared soon after, leaving him in the care of a bodyguard. When he saw her again at dinner, he was surprised to find her countenance just as uncharacteristically disheveled as it had been a few hours previous. Though he desperately wanted to the know the justification behind her extreme agitation – the one and only Shadow might have appeared, but he far from harmed the students – Hikaru remembered when he was five and had made the same inquiry, only to receive no explanatory reply.

"How much of that did you know about?" Kaoru asked curiously once they were on the road.

"I organized a simple getaway robbery. I never planned for a hostile takeover, and especially not while school was in session." Though Kaoru really heard, _E__specially not while you were there_. "However, I always suspected those guys were going to try something, so I hung around just in case."

After a moment of silence, Kaoru found himself smiling. "Thanks."

"Of course."

"No, I don't mean just for that. Back there, you called me a 'man.'" He looked up at his father figure with a light in his eyes.

Kyouya offered a wry smile back to him. "There are a lot of men who haven't seen half of what you have."

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When Hikaru emerged from his room the next morning, there was a short, blond boy sitting on the banister, swinging his legs back and forth through the gaps in the balusters.

"Good morning, Hika-chan!"

Hikaru blinked once before shouting, "Who the Hell are you and how do you know my name?" Given that this boy was the second stranger to hold this knowledge within the past 24 hours, the Hitachiin was understandably unnerved. Fortunately for his sanity, this new stranger's reaction was the opposite of Shadow's.

He smiled friendlily. "Nice to meet you. I'm Haninozuka Mitsukuni," he introduced, jumping down off the banister. "I'm here to protect you from Ky—Shadow-chan," he corrected himself. For a brief second, Hikaru could have sworn he heard and saw sadness in the other's lively countenance. But as soon as the gloom had appeared, it was just as quickly replaced with an empty smile.

(A/N: I feel the need to point out, as any Naruto fans out there probably know, that the Japanese word for "shadow" is "kage," and thus begins more similarly to "Kyouya" that one might think at first glance.)

"My mother hired a little kid to be my bodyguard?" Hikaru asked doubtfully, turning towards the stairs. On the other hand, he chose to ignore the oddity of such a familiar honorific being used with a felon's codename. Following in his path, Mitsukuni laughed playfully.

"I may not look like it, but I'm only a few years younger than Yuzu-san." Before the other could voice his disbelief, he continued, "Remember Takashi from when you were little?" The redhead nodded. Morinozuka Takashi had been the bodyguard his mother had glued to him the last time Shadow was roaming around Tokyo. "He's my cousin. We're the same age."

"Oh..." Hazel eyes aimlessly drifted as their owner only half-listened to the airy voice behind him. "What... happened to him?" he inquired carefully, wary of the possibly answers considering the involved parties. Luckily, Mitsukuni wasn't troubled enough to show it.

"He's in Germany, planning for Shadow-chan's return."

"_I'm Karl Reich... and I'm from Munich, Germany."_

"So you're sure he's going to go back to Germany?"

"_How long are you staying?"_

"_We're not sure yet. Probably a few months."_

"We're not positive, but it's very likely. After all, he doesn't like Japan anymore." When Hikaru turned around to inquire further into the potentially insightful statement, the petite blonde skipped right past him into the dining room.


	6. Chapter 6

_**Infiltration II.**_

_Chapter 6_

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Hikaru and his personal bodyguard were in the midst of a very intense stare-down, regardless of how the latter was a good foot shorter than the former. As much as Mitsukuni wanted to oblige the young master, he had been specific instructions by the lady Hitachiin to never – and she meant _never_ – let the boy out of his sight. Needless to say, Hikaru didn't approve. It made him feel like he was five years old again. Whatever fear had brought his mother to freak out similarly at that time remained a question left unanswered. All Hikaru knew was that both then and now had something to do with Shadow.

"You don't have to follow me _everywhere_," he grumbled. "In fact, I'd much rather you didn't."

"But, Hika-chan—"

"No!" Hikaru protested loudly. "I'm going by myself, and there's nothing you can do about it. And for the last time, stop calling me that!" With that, he marched straight into the lavatory. (He never did like public restrooms, but the call of nature was futile to ignore.) With the best pout a 30-something could muster – yet ultimately understanding the boy's request for privacy – Mitsukuni opted to wait outside on the steps.

He would never know how that decision would be a very bad mistake, and one perfectly predicted by Shadow.

After having done his business, Hikaru grumbled to the sink in which he washed his hands. Over a month had passed since the incident. Though he doubted it would ever happen, he wished his mother would simply drop the oppressive worry. Sighing, Hikaru turned off the water, raised his head for an obligatory glance in the mirror, and froze.

Staring back at him were the steely gaze of Shadow and the barrel of a gun.

"Miss me?"

Hikaru hated that smirk; he turned his gaze downward in order to avoid it. "W-what the Hell do you want?" he growled, desperately trying to cover up the fear in his voice and the one at the back of his mind that said, _I told you so_. Shadow might have (practically) saved his and Haruhi's lives, but he was still pointing a gun to Hikaru's head. The boy sincerely hoped – though doubted; Shadow probably found a way to look the door – that someone, _anyone_ would come in and interrupt the scene.

"You."

"Wha—?" Hikaru started, turning around to gauge the other's expression, but was interrupted by a wad of cloth being shoved into his arms. A second look revealed it as clothing – specifically, jeans and a long-sleeved tee. A pair of sneakers had fallen from the pile onto the floor.

"Put those on," ordered Kyouya. In return, he received a skeptical glance.

"Here? Now?" After the incredulous words left his mouth, part of him expected to hear the cocking of the gun to follow, the other part wasn't sure what to expect; none of him expected to see what must have been amusement find itself on Kyouya's face.

"We're both guys, aren't we?"

Regardless of the truth of that rhetorical question, Hikaru still felt the need to face the opposite direction as he did as he was told and changed into the other outfit. For a split second, he debated throwing the clothes in Shadow's face. He could feel the dark gaze boring into his back in such a way that Hikaru had to think – awkwardly – that it might be more than a simple, watchful eye. Luckily, he had worn a plainer outfit than usual today, and thus was rid of it and into the new one within minimal time. As soon as he donned the clothes, he also had to wonder how Shadow knew his size, for the fit was perfect.

"You have a cell phone? Keys? Anything like that?" Kyouya demanded.

"They're in my pants," Hikaru answered, turning around and inverting the pockets of his "new" – he used the term loosely; they had obviously been worn by someone else before – jeans to prove their emptiness. Kyouya nodded in approval.

"Good. Now get in a stall." Though with a raised eyebrow, Hikaru performed the required action. After putting the lid down on the toilet, he took a seat in order to make enough room for the other as he entered the stall as well. However, instead of standing in the space in front, after shutting the door Kyouya proceeded to climb over the toilet – and by extension, Hikaru as well – and seat himself on the ledge at the back of the stall. The Hitachiin didn't appreciate the boots digging into his sides (as opposed to on the floor, where they might became suspicious if seen along with the other pair of shoes) but at least the gun barrel had been removed from his head.

From behind him, Kyouya tapped lightly on the wall. "It's all yours," he said seemingly to the empty air, but the door to the next stall over creaking open indicated that someone had been anticipating the message. A shuffling of fabrics followed, then the door to the outside world opened and closed. Hikaru creased his brow in confusion. _What now_?

"We're going to wait here," Kyouya explained in response to the unvoiced question. Then, he added in warning, "Not a word." Hikaru nodded dumbly before burying his face in his hands.

He was fifteen, a teenage boy, and surrounded by bodyguards at all possible times. How the Hell did he manage to get _kidnapped_?

The minutes passed excruciatingly slowly. The time was consumed with tense silence, save for the periodical sounds of restroom visitors, mechanical equipment, and the two characters' breathing. By the time Shadow signaled the boy to stand up by prodding his back with his firearm, Hikaru almost wished he would pull the trigger. He was too overcome with boredom, hunger, pain in his backside, and shame to truly care about his surroundings. As a consequence, he was only vaguely aware of being half-dragged out of the building and to an abandoned parking lot cloaked by darkness. There, he was forced into the backseat of a car, where lying down on the soft seats at least brought instant relief to his back. Kyouya climbed in the front and ignited the engine.

"Where are you taking me?" Hikaru inquired once the road began rumbling beneath them. The night sky covered practically everything within the vehicle from sight, and so he was left staring up into nothing. Periodically street lamps or stars would sprinkle their light onto the ceiling, revealing minute splotches of grey.

"You'll see."

"How long are you planning on keeping me?"

Kyouya shrugged from behind the wheel. "Who knows?"

"Won't my parents know I'm missing?"

An unseen smirk. "Kaoru makes an excellent undercover agent, don't you think?"

"Who's 'Kaoru'…?" he murmured half to himself, wrinkling his brow in confusion. "'Undercover'…?" Then, the words he uttered came together in his mind. "You mean, there never really was a Reich Karl?" he concluded, angry that he had been duped this entire time into thinking he was in possession of a good friend. Meanwhile, he also deduced that this Kaoru was the identity of the previous other character in the bathroom.

"Of course there was," Kyouya replied smoothly, and for a futile moment Hikaru thought he could breathe a sigh of relief. "Karl Reich was a German botanist in the late 19th and early 20th century." He chuckled, but it was so sadistic that it only served to augment Hikaru's desire to slap the man. "No, the 'Reich Karl' you knew had always been my associate, Kaoru."

"So you sent him undercover into Ouran to watch out for the guys who were going to take it over?" For a brief moment, he thought he saw Shadow stiffen in the flickering light, but thought it too improbable.

"I had no such intention. He just didn't want to miss school while we were here."

"So you just _happened_ to send him to the one school that was going to have a hostile takeover?" His tone conveyed the strong dubiousness that he currently felt; the previous answer had been far too simple for him to believe.

"Who knows?" repeated Kyouya. Frowning in irritation, Hikaru curled his fingers tightly around the leather cushion of the seat. He thought getting information out of _the _Shadow would be difficult, but he never imagined the man would be so annoyingly amused by anyone's attempts to do so. Sitting up to stare out the window, Hikaru absentmindedly wondered why his kidnapper allowed him to see where they were going – if he bothered to remember the path, even the vague, dark landmarks would be quite useful to the police later – but maybe the Shadow didn't plan on their being a _later_. At this thought and the subsequent return of fear for his life, Hikaru gulped.

"What're you looking so terrified for?" Kyouya asked him suddenly, "I'm not going to kill you."

"Y-you're not?" Hikaru managed to stumble out after he unfroze from the shock of having his mind read.

"Of course not. There'd be no merit in that." Although the redhead wasn't sure what was meant by that, as long as it keep him alive he didn't really care. With a wary gaze, he watched Kyouya park the car a few floors up in a parking garage, then step out and open the door for his prisoner.

"Come on," he ordered. Although his grip on Hikaru's arm was painfully tight as he pulled him out of the vehicle when the boy displayed no interest in climbing out by his own will, Hikaru was pleasantly surprised to find that once they were inside what appeared to be a hotel – and thus in sight of witnesses – his arm was released and he was permitted to casually walk alongside the other. The notion of taking off in the other direction was instantly swallowed down by fear.

Shadow led him down hallways and up elevators to a room marked #964, which Hikaru instantly ingrained in his memory just in case. After unlocking the door, the former so very politely let the latter enter first. To the redhead's great surprise, the suite was atypically organized but otherwise generally normal, with a computer set up in the corner, video games and their consoles by the television, a _kotatsu _nearby, and unwashed dishes in the sink.

"Make yourself at home," Shadow offered, yet the seriousness of the statement was unclear, "just don't think of using the phone – you won't be able to find it – the door – you need the key to open it from the inside – or the rear left burner on the stove," he continued, and for a second Hikaru thought he was joking. "It autonomously bursts into flames." In spite of himself and his situation, the prisoner laughed, to which he received an odd, slightly amused look in response.

Then, of all possible things, Shadow started washing the dishes. Unsure of what to do with himself, Hikaru resigned himself to watching in amazement at the domestic side of a criminal mastermind. That is, until said criminal glared and threatened that if he didn't stop staring, _he _would have to do the dishes. With a gulp that made him realize how very thirsty he was, the Hitachiin nodded vigorously before averting his intent gaze.

"Can… I have something to drink?" he cautiously voiced his need.

"In the fridge," Kyouya replied curtly, gesturing towards the appliance behind him. With tense steps as if any second he would find himself impaled upon the knife that Shadow was currently rinsing, Hikaru stepped over to the refrigerator. Upon opening the door, his hazel eyes widened at the sight of some of his favorite beverages staring back at him. As he reached out towards a caramel-flavored _ramune_, he heard from behind him, "Get one for me, too." and did so. Needless to say, when he placed the drink on the counter next to the sink, he was not expecting the "Thanks" that followed. He blinked as part of a near-shocked look, but the other was too occupied with his task, facing the other direction, to notice.

After opening the bottle, Hikaru took it over to the couch and sat down. However, after only a few sips to relieve his parched throat, he felt fatigue wash over him. Shortly after he rested his head on the edge of a pillow, sleep took over.


	7. Chapter 7

_Chapter 7_

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"Kyouya-sama, your father requests your presence in his office," an intern announced, leaning across the door frame.

"I'll be there in just a minute," the young man nodded without glancing up from his task of measuring out a variety of medications on the desk in front of him. As soon as the medical worker disappeared from sight, Kyouya stood to gather his belongings, "accidentally" dropping a few bottles of pills into his steel-encased briefcase. They landed softly amongst the sealed packets of syringes.

As always when someone entered the main office, Yoshio sat with intimidating confidence behind a wide yet minimalist desk. After waiting for the appropriate invitation, Kyouya took his seat on one of the leather chairs in front.

"You called, father?" he prompted, letting the metaphorical acid drip from the last word without hindrance. As one of many typical speeches entered into one ear, he picked up the newspaper from the end table nearby and turned to a random page. Although he periodically glanced up in order to confirm his supply of attention to the one-sided conversation, his main focus was instantly gathered as his dark eyes fell upon one of the articles:

_Identical, twin boys turn three: A pair of heirs for the Hitachiin family_

But Kyouya knew the arrangement couldn't work out nearly as well as the article had hoped it would. As the third son, he knew all too well the pressures of living in the shadow of brothers – and his weren't even his twins. Even without looking anything like either of his older brothers, he was still labeled as just one of the Ootori children. These Hitachiin twins couldn't possibly _both _live equally up to their parents' expectations.

"I expect you will do just as well in your junior year in Munich," Yoshio was saying just then. Slapping on a frozen smile, Kyouya nodded obediently.

"Of course, father," he lied, for he now had much better plans for the coming year. The Hitachiin twins wouldn't have to compete with one another after all.

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Hazel eyes drifted open, then instantly shut again due to too-bright lighting. Hikaru groaned. A few moments later, he tried opening his eyes once more, this time rubbing at them with the back of his hands. When the scenery clearly struck his view at last, it took a minute for all the memories of events previous to come flooding back. And yet, even when they had, he still could not recall the décor. Mid-afternoon daylight streamed in from the window, illuminating the matching furniture and print carpet of a hotel bedroom. Throwing his legs over the edge of the bed upon which he lay, Hikaru felt something hard underneath his feet. The object turned out to be the pair of sneakers he had been given the day before; apparently, someone had removed them.

_Shadow?—_Hikaru contemplated the idea—_Did he carry me here, too?_—and cringed. _No way…_

Shaking off the fatigue of having just awoken, he stood up and made his way to the door. Opening it exposed the more familiar – yet still unwanted – surroundings of the suite to which he had been brought. Curiously, he tried the other two doors; the first was locked – undoubtedly Shadow's room – while the second turned out to be the bathroom for which Hikaru had been hoping. Once inside, he was presented with an unopened toothbrush lying next to the sink. _How considerate_, he thought wryly, though he truthfully had to wonder why he was being treated more like a guest than a hostage.

After washing up, Hikaru immediately headed for the kitchen. By the time he found two brands of cereal, four kinds of soup, and three flavors of ice cream that were all some of his favorites, he was about ready to grab Shadow – had he been present at the moment – by the shoulders and demand an explanation. Even the percentage of fat in the milk was correct. When a glance inside the freezer uncovered leftover pancakes, uncanny turned into downright disturbing. Grumbling to himself, Hikaru popped them in the microwave and went searching for the maple syrup that, by this point, he knew just _had _to be there.

He was sitting at the kitchen island with these two items of food piled high on his plate when the front door opened. Kyouya gave an amused smirk to the glowering spectacle as he laid his grocery bag on the counter nearby.

"I take it you approve of the food selection?" he inquired in a tone that indicated he already knew the answer.

"How do you know what I like?"

"Well, I _have _been spying on you for the past month."

His mouth fell open. "_You have!?_" he practically screamed, a deep blush coloring his cheeks at the thought. The sadistic chuckle resurfaced.

"No. The new security measures your parents instituted are quite impressive. Then again, it is the Haninozuka clan."

Gradually, the heat in redhead's cheeks waned as the words sunk in. "You know of the Haninozukas?"

"_Everyone _knows of the Haninozukas."

"Oh. I guess so…" trailed Hikaru uncertainly, after which he turned back to his – dare he admit it – delicious meal. It wasn't until after Kyouya refilled the soap dispenser that he spoke again:

"Kaoru loves maple syrup." Caught by surprise at the sudden statement and the content thereof – also, was that a hint of remorse he heard? – Hikaru had trouble finding the words with which to reply intelligently. "You two have a lot of tastes in common."

"I guess so," Hikaru repeated noncommittally. He thought back to all the times he and _Karl _happened to order the same lunch sets, or give the same response – in unison – to a comment by Haruhi, but was far from admitting that Shadow was right. That was _Karl_, not this Kaoru. The memory brought forth from the older twin a sigh of regret and disappointment. However, he was forced from the nostalgia when a pack of cigarettes and a lighter slid across the counter in front of him. He blinked at the gift, once again finding it of his preferred brand.

"That's the kind you like, right?" Kyouya asked, lighting up one of his own – notably of a different company. Picking up the newspaper he had bought – or stolen, as far as his prisoner was concerned – he sat down at the island as well.

"Yeah… thanks." Hikaru paused for another bite before voicing his next curious question: "Why are you being so nice to me?"

Kyouya shrugged. "Everyone deserves his or her simple pleasures. Wash that when you're done with it," he added, gesturing towards the syrup-drenched plate.

"But you're _Shadow_," insisted the other. "You _kidnapped_ me."

"So?"

"Criminals aren't supposed to be _nice _to the people they kidnap!"

Laying down the paper, Kyouya turned to person he kidnapped with a stern yet indecipherable gaze. "Look, I may be a 'criminal,' but above that I'm a father. Now if you don't stop asking all these irritating, stupid questions, I _won't_ be so 'nice' to you." Hikaru gulped and nodded. The tone sounded far too menacing given the words it was expressing. Regardless of the warning, the next curious inquiry emerged before he realized that it probably fell under the same category as the others.

"You're a father?" he started in disbelief. "Then where's your kid?"

"Guess."

"…Kaoru?" The tone of his conjecture echoed his incredulity well; but at the same time, everything that Karl had ever told him about his father fell perfectly into place, from the business in "money management" to the Japanese. Apparently, the kid's dad really _was _on the run from the cops when he moved to Germany.

"No way. You can't possibly be old enough to have a 15-year-old. Unless he's not really 15," supplemented Hikaru, just now realizing the option. What he didn't mention was his desire to trust that the Karl he knew would never admire – as he clearly did of his father – a man such as the infamous Shadow. He also had difficulty with the notion of such a man as father figure. When said man chuckled this time, the elder Hitachiin was relieved to find it a purer form of amusement than the typical sadism.

"I appreciate the compliment, but even if we were biologically related, I technically would be old enough, indeed. And yes, he really is 15."

"Oh, so you're not actually his father," Hikaru concluded in relief. Shadow gave him a long, deep look in response, and the redhead found it more intense than any of the glares to which he had been subjected previously.

"It depends on your definition of 'father.'" Without giving room for response, he turned back to the news. At the significant words, Hikaru found himself overcome with homesickness at the thought of _father _and, subsequently, _mother_. He swore to himself that he wouldn't let Shadow see him cry, and so buried his head in his arms to hide the tears. He was only vaguely aware of the person sitting next to him getting up and walking away, and completely unaware of the reason behind the movement.


	8. Chapter 8

_Chapter 8_

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Voices were coming from outside the door, one of them clearly Shadow's, the other unrecognizably feminine. When the door opened, the owner was revealed to be a mature woman with flowing, dark hair that matched the color of Kyouya's own. After closing the door after her, he offered her a seat at the _kotatsu_.

"What're you looking so freaked out for?" he demanded of Hikaru on his way to fetch the tea. "She's just my sister." Swallowing the lump his throat, the redhead stopped halfway through a brisk nod to cast a retort.

"_Excuse me_ for my brash assumptions when a _mobster_ brings a _woman _into his hotel room," he growled, returning to his generously allowed video games. At the same time, his interest perked up at the personal insight. Although he knew that criminal masterminds had to come from _somewhere_, the notion of them having a family like everyone else was nonetheless bizarre. Kyouya just snorted in response, while the woman let out a little laugh. A minute later, he set two cups of tea on the tabletop and took a seat beside her. However, his gaze was directed straight at the unwanted eavesdropper.

"Go to your room," he ordered, somehow sounding more like a suggestion that a chastisement. Scoffing like he didn't care that he was kicked out of the room – and by consequence, a potentially very insightful and interesting conversation – Hikaru took his time in standing and marching into the bedroom. It was only until after he closed the door behind him that he realized the odd use of the possessive.

As soon as he was sure the boy was no longer within earshot, Kyouya turned back to his sister, his anger instantly evaporating. "How's the family?"

"Father misses you," she answered with a sad smile, folding her hands around the warm beverage. In contrast, dubiousness crossed Kyouya's features.

"First of all, it's my talent he misses – not me. Second of all, I meant _your _family – not ours." The look on her face that followed indicated that she knew very well what he meant from the beginning.

"_I_ miss you."

"I know. I miss you, too. We both do. We'll have to visit again after I drop off the other one."

"'The other one'?" she repeated, raising an eyebrow. "I thought the whole point of this was to prevent identification by comparison."

Kyouya frowned, averting his gaze from her omnipotent one. "Not the _whole_ point, but partly, yes. Yet..." He trailed off, knowing full well that she didn't need him to voice the problem, for she herself would.

"You're afraid of accidentally calling him 'Kaoru.'" Her voice was a whisper, half just in case the other boy _could _hear from inside the bedroom, and half because she knew all too well how sensitive her brother could be to his own faults. This time, he neither nodded nor denied the possibility. "Don't be." She placed a caring hand around his still wrist.

"I'm just so used to seeing that face on him," Kyouya replied slowly, furrowing his brow further.

"I know what you mean." She attempted to lift the spirits of her voice higher to change the mood. "Every adorable, little boy looks like Kyuichi to me."

His lips might have twitched at the corners. "Yeah. Fortunately for me, there are very few redheaded Japanese in Germany." With a squeeze of his hand, she laughed.

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The other side of the plan had been going perfectly until the day Haruhi caught him alone, Kaoru having invited her on an afternoon out because it had been only customary of Hikaru to do so.

"Where's Hikaru?" she asked once they were out of earshot of other Ouran students. Beyond the innocence of her tone, she stared at him with a mix of concern and determination.

He blinked once at the question before laughing at it. "What are you talking about, Haruhi? I'm right here," he tried. To his surprise, she gave him a stare more serious than he had ever seen on her before.

"You don't have to tell me everything, Reich-kun. I just want to know where Hikaru is."

For once, Kaoru was at a loss. His smiled faded; his gaze lowered. Here he was, in the presence of someone who could distinguish him from his identical twin – a day he never thought would come.

_If I left the situation as is, perhaps there would never be someone who can tell them apart._

Was it because they grew up separately? Or would this have happened anyway? Fate was a strange, complicated notion, and one that his father had taught him never to trust.

The apologetic smile forced its way onto his face. "He's with Shadow, but don't worry – he's perfectly safe. He's probably coming back soon, too." This last statement lit up her eyes, though the comment that followed was of a nature unrelated to the direct cause.

"I bet you want to go home, don't you?"

"Yeah," he admitted, turning his voice softer and averting his eyes from her unintentionally piercing ones. "Hikaru probably does, too."

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Of all the possible actions after wrenching open the bedroom door, Hikaru was far from expecting Kyouya to walk over and slap him across the face. Once he had recovered from the initial shock at the violent gesture, the Hitachiin boy let his gaze shift into disbelief.

"If you _ever_ call my sister a whore again," Kyouya spat out with a venomous glare, "I swear I'll make it so _everyone_ can tell you apart." With that, he stalked off to his room, leaving a sore and confused Hitachiin in his wake.

"What the Hell is that supposed to mean!?" he yelled at the slammed door. As one might expect, he received no reply. He tried asking again at dinner, when Shadow appeared at least slightly less pissed.

"Ask your parents."

"How would they know? Why can't you tell me now?" he prodded, the lack of information over the day taking its toll on his patience. After the annoyed and demanding tone cast itself over his words, Hikaru instantly regretted it for fear of retribution. However, instead of the hard glare he was expecting in return, the other's face showed no reactionary emotion.

"It's not my place to tell you."

"Since when did you care about doing what's right?" Hikaru grumbled half-rhetorically into his rice. After a moment of silence he could feel Shadow's dark eyes boring into his side. When Hikaru looked up again, he met a gaze crossed between doubt and intrigue.

"You have no idea what I do."

Ignoring the validity of the statement, Hikaru let his eyes narrow into resolution. "I know you kidnapped somebody a long time ago and never returned them."

Inwardly, Kyouya smirked at how very unaware the older Hitachiin twin was of the proximity of the case to his personal situation. "So...?"

"What kind of person would do that!?" Hikaru shouted, downright horrified at the other's nonchalant attitude. "How could you tear up a family like that? Don't you care about how his parents must miss him? About how he must miss his parents? That is"—Hikaru glared as hard as he could—"assuming you haven't killed him by now." A moment of silence followed in which he begged his fists to stop shaking and for Shadow to display some – _any –_ emotion.

"Are you quite finished?" the man asked at the end of the moment. Hikaru sunk into his seat in embarrassment.

"Y-yeah..." He gulped, regretting his scathing comments – not only for his own well-being, but additionally, he admitted to himself, for Shadow's sake.

"Then I would advise you to consider your words before they leave your big mouth next time."

"S-sorry..."

Kyouya breathed a sigh then; one of both irritation and disappointment. "Honestly, you are nothing like him." And there it was again: another comment that made Hikaru feel like he was being left out of the loop on a very important fact.

"Who? Kaoru?" Hikaru inquired further, curiosity triumphing over the common sense that told him to keep his big mouth shut. Unfortunately, all he received in reply was a half-hearted nod. Then, without a word, Kyouya stood and brought the remains of his meal to the kitchen area, after which he locked himself away in his room where he would spend the rest of the evening. Suddenly, Hikaru no longer had the appetite to consume the rest of his dinner.


	9. Chapter 9

_Chapter 9_

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As soon as Kyouya shut the bedroom door behind him, he opened his cell phone and dialed a number he hoped he would only have to call this once.

"Hey." But the voice did not belong to the owner of the phone.

"Can you talk?" Kyouya asked, reluctantly suppressing his desire to instantly revert to German.

"Yeah, I'm in the bedroom," affirmed Kaoru, clear relief seeping into his tone at the sound of the other's voice. "Haninozuka's outside."

"And?"

The silence that followed was long, but expected. "You were right," the boy finally answered, sniffling. "They don't notice a thing."

"Kaoru…" On the other end of the line, Kyouya breathed a regretful sigh. "I wish I could be there right now to hold you."

"N-no, no – I'll be okay. Besides, I'm not supposed to show weakness in front of the enemy, right?" He laughed dryly; and although that was exactly what Kyouya had taught him in all his years of undercover work, somehow both of them felt a tug in their hearts that told them it didn't have to be immutably true.

"Right," Kyouya repeated without emotion. "Shall I arrange for the exchange?"

"Yeah."

"All right. Day after tomorrow, seven-thirty, Odaiba."

"Okay. See you then." Even though the response was trite, the tone thereof reflected his true satisfaction with a resolution of the situation.

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With the knowledge that he no long had to maintain the facade of his twin, Kaoru could let his meticulous attention to every detail of his words and actions fall. He would have liked to think it was that one modification of his semblance that crossed the necessary line, but then again it could have been the slight, German accent he no longer had to prevent from coating his speech.

"Hikaru, are you sure you're feeling okay?" Yuzuha asked him the next evening, no doubt in especial concern over the recent, hectic dealings. She placed a hand across his forehead to check for a fever. "Do you feel sick? You've seemed a bit off lately."

"Have I?" he started innocently, receiving an instant nod in reply. "Well, that would make sense, since I'm not Hikaru."

In a moment void of grace, her mouth fell open. "What...?"

A wide grin painted itself across his face. "I'm not Hikaru. I'm Kaoru."

It took a solid five seconds for her to stop staring unblinkingly and pull him into a possessive hug. "K-Kaoru? It's really you? My darling Kaoru—!" she sputtered inelegantly, not even noticing the lack of returned affection from the other. Kaoru waited patiently for the next realization to sink in. When it did, she pulled back and laid firm hands on his shoulders. "But, if you're Kaoru, then where's Hikaru?" She searched in his eyes for some emotion on his part, but he simply stared emptily back at her.

"He's with Shadow." The grip on his shoulders tightened; her eyes widened. "If you want him back, then we – just you, me, your husband, and Haninozuka – no one else, only that one guard – are to meet Shadow tomorrow afternoon for the exchange."

"'Exchange'?" she repeated. "But, Kaoru, darling, don't you want to stay here with your family?"

"Shadow's the only family I have." He hated to say it so coldly – because in essence he supposed it wasn't her fault – but the statement was entirely true. Still, he couldn't stop the wave of guilt he felt when that sadness and disappointmentwashed across her face.

Turning on his heels, Kaoru marched up to Hikaru's room. It wasn't long, however, after he lay down on the bed and wiped the developing tears from the corners of his eyes before a knock sounded at the door.

"Who is it?" he called, right hand automatically poised to reach the 45 hidden under the bed. When the door opened to reveal a pair of large, brown eyes staring at him with regret in their depths, Kaoru retracted his arm and sat up. "What do you want, Haninozuka?"

"I want to know if Kyou-chan is happy." All Kaoru could do in response was blink at the seemingly out-of-place request. Mitsukuni took the lack of a reply as allowance to come closer, and so did, claiming a seat beside the boy on the bed with fingers curled into tense fists. "Did he tell you? We went to school together – Takashi and I were a year ahead of him. Even though he was famous and number one in his class, he always looked so... empty." He frowned. "So, I want to know if he's happy now – if he's made the right decision."

"_For one who lives the life of a criminal, there is no 'ever after.'"_

With a deep sigh, Kaoru averted his gaze, though simultaneously keeping the corner of it focused on his guest out of habit. "If you want him to be happy, then you'll let me go back without issue," he chose to respond carefully.

"I will," the other promised, "but, as you should know, I want Yuzu-san and Hika-chan to be happy, too. Don't you?" Beyond the hope of his smile lay the indication that he already knew the answer.

"Yeah," Kaoru voiced it, but not without reserve, "but maybe we weren't all meant to be."

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The cool air grew tenser with every passing second. Regardless of how he had been taught to always prepare for the worst, Kaoru couldn't shake the excitement and anxiety bubbling in his stomach. Unfortunately for him, he also couldn't shake his biological mother's hand from his shoulder.

The grip abruptly tightened when a sleek, black car drove up across the way. The driver's side opened, and out stepped a figure in a black trench and equally dark hair. With only a barely noticeable glance at the other party, he walked over to the back of the vehicle. After smoothly yet swiftly wrenching the door open, he pulled the passenger out by the arm and practically dragged him to the scene of the exchange.

"Mom!" the boy called, struggling against the arm holding both of his behind his back. However, when the gun barrel pressed into his temple, he instantly shut his mouth and stiffened. His gaze drifted across the space that separated the two groups, spotting his mother steadfast but on the verge of tears. His eyes widened as they stopped on Kaoru. If Hikaru himself were as impossibly calm as the other teen, it could have been a mirror image.

"_Kaoru makes an excellent undercover agent, don't you think?"_

Could his parents really not have noticed? Was Kaoru that much like himself?

"_You two have a lot of tastes in common."_

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Hitachiin Yuzuha-san," Kyouya sarcastically greeted with a matching smirk.

"Shadow, give me back my son," she returned, getting right down to business. Her eyes remained focused on the weapon too close for comfort to the older twin's forehead.

"Of course. So long as you return mine."

"He's not yours."

Shadow didn't reply to that, but Hikaru saw hurt flashing across Kaoru's face.

"_It depends on your definition of 'father.'"_

"On three," decided Kyouya, "we let them go." Hesitantly, Yuzuha nodded. Three seconds later, she just as reluctantly lifted her hand from her younger son's shoulder, allowing him to step forward into the interstice. At the same time, with the rough push he was given, Hikaru assumed he was supposed to do the same. With a wary eye behind him and a confused one in front, he stumbled forward to meet the mirror face-to-face.

"Kar—Kaoru..." he started, correcting himself just when the matching hazel eyes were about to.

"Hikaru," the other spoke softly with a regretful smile, "it's a shame it had to come to this. I'll miss you." With those three words, he wrapped his arms around Hikaru in a warm yet brief embrace. Taken aback by the gesture and his mixed feelings towards it, the older twin could not bring himself to return it. Unsure of what else to say, he let Kaoru walk away without another word as his own footsteps lead him to his anxiously awaiting parental figures.

"Kaoru," Yuzuha called suddenly, simultaneously grasping onto her other son, "think about what you're doing. You're always welcome to come back to us – to your family." Unfortunately for her, her pleading went unheeded as the boy continued on his way to Shadow's side. With a momentary hand on his shoulder, Kaoru was told that he didn't need to reply, and so disappeared into the back of the car. After ensuring that the situation was safe with a cautionary glance, Shadow turned to head back as well. However, a small, familiar voice caused him to stop halfway there.

"Kyou-chan," Mitsukuni spoke, "you don't have to do this." Kyouya turned his head back just enough for the other to see his wry smile.

"Neither do you, Haninozuka-senpai." Then, they were gone.

Hikaru faced his parents with solemnity hardened in his eyes. "Mom, dad; I think there's something very important you need to tell me."

Only a short distance away, in the back seat of a Jaguar, Kaoru pulled his legs up to his chest and cried.

_The End_


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